In the summer of 1923, when aged 32, she became very ill with what at first appeared to be a virulent cold.

Her mother, Clara, accompanied her to a guest-house in Cromer, hoping perhaps that the sea air would prove beneficial, but to her horror, her daughter’s condition rapidly deteriorated, and she fell seriously ill.

More William (Image: Kate Massey and Kornelia Cepok)

It was only after returning to their home in Bromley, London, that Clara, acting as her nurse, discovered that she had poliomyelitis* for which there was no immunisation available in the 1920s.

As a result of this debilitating disease, Richmal lost the use of her right leg and so had to walk with a stick for the rest of her life.

Her mobility curtailed, Richmal was advised to give up teaching by her doctor.

Well-respected by her fellow tutors and much-loved by her pupils, in less than ten years her scholastic career had been brought to an abrupt end.

No 1. Richmal Crompton 1912 (Image: Kate Massey and Kornelia Cepok)

For someone who was equally at home on the hockey pitch as in the classroom, it was a cruel twist of fate, but Richmal turned her attention to writing to make a living with the practicality of a self-assured woman possessed of an indomitable spirit.

Writing comedy-based short stories in her spare time, she had already gained a measure of popularity through her work for the Girl’s Own Paper and Woman at Home.

But it was not until she introduced William Brown in a story called ‘Rice-Mould’ for Newnes Home Magazine in February 1919 that her career really took off.

Though Home Magazine was aimed primarily at adults, Newnes soon realised William’s mischievous antics proved just as appealing to the younger generation and transferred the series to the Happy Mag, which enjoyed the patronage of children of all ages.

Aware that they had a winner on their hands, Newnes published a selection of twelve stories in May 1922 under the title of Just William.

Richmal Crompton (Image: Kate Massey and Kornelia Cepok)

Such was its success, that a second volume of fourteen stories was published the next month, entitled More William.

A further 36 collections followed over the years, concluding with William the........

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